Research Information System
Soil and Tillage Research, vol.202, 2020 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
This study aimed to determine the physicochemical properties and production energy of biochars obtained from tomato harvest waste as a function of temperature and duration (holding time), and the influence of biochars on soil CO2 emission in the field condition. Pyrolysis was conducted in a 50 L-reactor with an electrical heating system. With a rise in pyrolysis temperature and holding time, pH, carbon, ash and fixed carbon contents, and energy consumption per unit mass of biochar increased, while volatiles content, and biochar yield decreased. The nitrogen content of biochars decreased with the increased holding time under the same temperature. Soil CO2 emission rose and declined with biochars produced at low and high temperatures, respectively, when mixed with the soil. The difference between the lowest (at 500 °C with the holding times of 240 min) and highest biochars-related soil CO2 emissions (at 300 °C with the holding times of 40 min) was 38.6 %. The pyrolysis temperature of 500 °C regardless of holding time appeared to reduce the energy consumption due to the biochar production, and soil respiration.